Aquatic center to recieve fresh paint

Council members approved a $27, 347 bid for blasting and re-painting parts of the Gardner Aquatic Center during a meeting March 7.

Jeff Stewart, city parks and recreation director, said city officials budgeted $20,000 to sweep blast and paint the zero-depth entry/lazy river and baby pools last August. However, the lowest bid of three the city received was $7,300 more than anticipated.

“I hope we can come up with additional money,” Stewart said. “There’s really not any extra.”

This year’s budget for aquatic center maintenance is $28,000 total. It includes $20,000 for re-painting; $5,000 to replace some of the deck chairs and patio furniture; and $3,000 to meet miscellaneous needs.

Under the original budget, the deck furniture would be replaced at the end of the summer season. Those purchases may be put on hold at the end of the summer depending on how the year’s budget shakes out.

In the meantime, Stewart said Dayco’s bid for the work should be accurate.

“I foresee no change orders that will increase costs,” he told council members.

The project is on a tight schedule. City officials have asked the Dayco to complete the project by April 8, so they can begin filling the pools.

In other business, city council members:

Approved an ordinance that will allow organizations to petition the city for permits to allow drinking on city-owned property. The previous ordinance allowed the consumption of alcoholic beverages at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course and at Gardner Lake Dam Park, when leased for an event, and during Festival on the Trails. The revision will allow organizations, like planners of the KC Hot Air Balloon Invitational, to obtain a permit for the sale of liquor during the special events. The city council will still have final authority on when and if liquor sales are permitted on city property.

Approved an agreement between the city and Johnson County that will allow the city to use County Assistance Road System funding for improvements to 183rd Street. The project will fully reconstruct 183rd Street between Gardner Road and approximately Mulberry Street. The upgrades to the road will include the construction of a shoulder and ditch grading.

The county will reimburse the city for 50 percent of the project up to $343,000. Additionally, the city secured a Community Block Development Grant of $50,000 for the project. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $758,500. Officials anticipate construction on the project will start in late summer.

Approved a $309,791 contract for design services for upgrades to the Gardner Lake Spillway.

Greene said the spillway road has been closed for a number of years due to deterioration of the spillway. Also, new floodplain mapping, adopted in 2009 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), indicates that 27 homes near the spillway are within the floodplain.

The spillway improvements will lower the remove 20 of those homes from the new floodplain.

The city will be responsible for flood proofing the homes that remain in the floodplain following the spillway upgrades.

Preliminary engineering suggests the spillway upgrades will cost approximately $2.7 million. Of that, Johnson County Stormwater Management Program will fund $1.98 million for design in 2011 and construction in 2012. The city’s share will be $760,000.